Flow cytometry to identify cell types to which enzymes bind. Effect of lactic dehydrogenase virus on enzyme binding.

Flow cytometry was used to measure the binding of enzymes (i.e. lactate dehydrogenases 1 and 5, malate dehydrogenase, and asparaginase) to cells. Of the four enzymes studied, asparaginase showed the greatest binding. Single color analysis revealed that asparaginase bound best to preparations enriched in macrophages, and dual color analysis showed that the binding was to macrophages. Studies on continuous cell lines revealed that asparaginase bound to one mouse macrophage line, but not to another or to murine fibroblasts. Inoculation of mice with lactic dehydrogenase virus, a virus that infects macrophages, decreased the in vivo clearance of asparaginase from the circulation and the in vitro binding of asparaginase to peritoneal macrophages. It is concluded that flow cytometry can be used to study the binding of enzymes to cells, to identify the cell type to which the enzyme binds, and to measure changes in the capacity of cells to bind enzymes.